Magic and myths in Egypt

Magical practice, that is how would we call what ancient Egyptians believed to be their religion. Magic and religion depend on ritual to maintain cosmic order. Magico- religious names, spells, pictures, figures, amulets and rituals formed an important part of early Egyptian life.

The river Nile

First predynastic and prehistoric inhabitants of Egypt believed that the earth, the underworld, the air and the sky are full of beings. Some of them connected to life being friendly and some of them causing death and destruction.

Egyptian tradition says that life was born from waters of river Nile.

Hill called Atum (the complete One) rose up out of the waters of the abyss at the first time of light. Every day this repeated in the birth of the sun from abyss of night. And also every year when Nile flooded the land bringing the life to the surroundings.Atum generated the male Shu and the female Tefnut who gave a birth to Nut (sky goddess who gave birth to stars) and to Geb (the earth god).

ISIS AND OSIRIS

Nut and Geb gave birth to Osiris, Isis, their brother Seth and sister Nephthys. Osiris was a first king of Egypt and creator of civilization. He married his sister Isis, who ruled in his absence. Their brother Seth was jealous and conspired to kill Osiris. Seth constructed a chest and tricked Osiris into lying inside of it. Lid was nailed shut and chest was thrown into Nile. Chest floated to the Byblos coast and got stuck in to the branches of the tree. Tree grew up around it and enclosed it. King and queen of Byblos pick this beautiful tree to made a pillar for their palace.

Atum the father of all Egyptian gods

Grieving Isis was looking for the chest. She was waiting by a well in a city of Byblos hiding her divinity. Isis become friend with some of the queen Astarte's maids and perfumed their hair. Queen send for a person who made such a wonderful fragrance and made Isis a nurse to her child. Isis gave the child her finger instead of breast and each night she placed him into the fire to remove his mortality. Meanwhile she transformed herself into a swallow and flew around the pillar.

One night Astarte came to the room and saw her son lying in the fire. Isis had to reveal her true identity and asked to be given the pillar.

On the boat heading to Egypt Isis transformed to a kite and hovered over Osiris body and conceived their son Horus. Then she hid the chest and went to Buto to raise her son.

While Seth was hunting he discover the chest. He tore Osiris body into 14 pieces and scattered them around the country. With help of Isis sister Nephthys and her son jackal-headed Anubis she found every part of the body except penis so she made a replica. Then she fanned him with her wings and Osiris came to life again to become the ruler of Eternity judging the souls of death.

Anubis - jackal headed son of Nephthys

This myth shows us cosmic unity, connections between the human world, the realm of gods and nature. Osiris dies with parched land, the withering grain, the waning moon and all that is destructive. With rising waters of the Nile, the growing grain, the waxing moon and the affirmative nature of human beings he returns to life. The creative force of Isis, as the flooding of the Nile brought Osiris to life, but is interrupted by the necessary element of death and destruction - Seth.

From death comes life and in life there is death.

Both are part of the unity. This primal Egyptian story shows us how is human being connected with natural world and spiritual realm of gods. All is interlinked in a magical processes of life and death.